Hunger in Amercia

  • Thread starter Thread starter Michaeljc4
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Michaeljc4 said:
.
Jesus calls us to feed the hungry, period. He calls us not to judge, lest we be judged ourselves. Jesus says nothing about the efficiencies of a free market economy, or the desirability of a socialist government that cares for all people. He says, simply, “as you do unto the least of these my brothers, so you do unto me.”

What, then, is the proper response of Catholics, of Christians, and of us as individuals to the fact that in our nation, people are going hungry?

We need to do what Jesus said: feed the hungry. In America, I think we could use a good dose of caring past our own noses.
Click to expand...
 
leftistdestroye said:
Well, I think that the Bishops and Priests need to do and say more as to our obligations. They are afraid of losing parishioners by saying things that may offend people. They need to say what needs to be said, stick to the rules, and remind us, on a daily basis, what our duties are and that WE ARE OBLIGATED to do more! If we, as private citizens, do not do enough, big government will. And already big government, has enabled many Catholics(and not), to ignore the problems, go to Church once a week, and flip the remote with a bad of Doritos on our laps the other 6 days.

On the otherhand, sure food costs have risen, but, there is still plenty of cheap food around. If a person can work, they should. NO FREEBIES! I eat lunch everyday, 5 days a week for $6.00. $6.00 TOTAL! A ceaser salad. I can go to a car wash, look in the vacumns, and find $6.00 that was sucked up. Granted, there is no protein, but for maybe $5.00 more, I can have some. In one of the videos, I saw a guy carrying his food, and stopped to light a smoke. That pack of smokes, costs what my lunch for 5 days costs, at least. I worked at gas stations and was clearing $500.00 a week. That is $2000.00 a month. The cost of food in the US, is not nailing people. 10,000 poor Mexicans who saw the price of a tortilla quadruple because of Ethanol, have real issues. DON’T BUY ETHANOL!!! Your cheap, less efficiant gas is hurting poor people!

rant off lol
Click to expand...
When I was working, I used to eat a hot dog for lunch. Just one. Cost a dollar. No soda. All protein. Plus the bun which was starch. From one of those carts on the sidewalk. Lots of other people did the same. And it was very quick. Went to noon Mass and had a hot dog while I walked back to work. No mustard or relish or sauerkraut because it was too messy and I’d get it all over myself.

Had no name generic tea bags at my desk. A cup of tea cost a penny.

There was also a fruit stand/cart. For a dollar, I bought a whole bag of fruit.

A McDonalds or Burger King basic hamburger (no fries or soda) is also cheap. No extras.

If the office had a fridge, sometimes I would bring or buy a yoghurt. Less than a dollar. I’d keep a container of milk for my tea … splurged on coffee bags a few times.

For breakfast, an egg on a roll. Pretty cheap. I did splurge and get an el cheapo coffee, but I saved the cup to reuse with my tea later.

**
 
DHC1Chipmunk said:
Michaeljc4;3599565:
.
Jesus calls us to feed the hungry, period. He calls us not to judge, lest we be judged ourselves. Jesus says nothing about the efficiencies of a free market economy, or the desirability of a socialist government that cares for all people. He says, simply, “as you do unto the least of these my brothers, so you do unto me.”

What, then, is the proper response of Catholics, of Christians, and of us as individuals to the fact that in our nation, people are going hungry?

We need to do what Jesus said: feed the hungry. In America, I think we could use a good dose of caring past our own noses.
Click to expand...
We **do **feed the hungry. That’s charity.

What we don’t do is change the system so the hungry can feed themselves. That’s social justice.

Name me one social justice program.
Click to expand...
 
vern_humphrey said:
ribozyme;3612112:
The food stamp program is charity – it does nothing to change the system so those unable to get out of poverty become prosperous.

Name me one social justice program.
Click to expand...
In Sweden there is a “social justice program” called “AMS-åtgärder” and in Denmark it is called “arbejdsmarkedspolitiske foranstaltninger” that decreased the unemployment rate and gives people the dignity of not being unemployed.
Click to expand...
 
I just did, Vern: The Catholic Campaign for Human Development. I named you one. Now what?
 
Michaeljc4 said:
Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
Click to expand...
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty: CCHD funded group successes
Click to expand...
123 living wage ordinances have been passed, generating $750,000,000 in new annual wages (employees of cities, counties, school districts). CCHD funded projects were involved in 11 of the new ordinances.
Click to expand...
State minimum wage laws are now enacted in 26 states. In 2006, six states passed minimum wage laws and CCHD funded groups got it on the ballot in four of those states.
Click to expand...
The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is an important source of income for low-income families. Families who do not apply for the EITC lose $1,000-$2,000 in returned taxes. CCHD funded projects operate tax centers that do free tax preparation for low-income families. Door knocking by funded groups generates eligible applicants.
Click to expand...
Nice try, but no cigar – these programs are simply more examples of charity (and forced charity at that.) There is no “human development” in this blurb – no one is being educated, learning advanced skills, being provided with tools and materials and so on.

Once again, name me one social justice program.
 
How is it ‘forced charity’ to raise funds from voluntary giving–the largest area of the group’s funding–and train the poor to work for themselves, and to advocate for themselves? Read more than the blurb, Vern my friend. It’s the old “give a man a fish/teach a man to fish” canard.

You are one onry Southern fella.

I was incredibly pleased to just notice that, in the title of this thread, I misspelled “America.” Excuse me, all. Typing too fast.
 
ribozyme said:
In Sweden there is a “social justice program” called “AMS-åtgärder” and in Denmark it is called “arbejdsmarkedspolitiske foranstaltninger” that decreased the unemployment rate and gives people the dignity of not being unemployed.
Click to expand...
General Motors has a program where un-needed workers are paid to come in and sit around a table playing cards all day – but that’s not social justice, either.
 
How is it ‘forced charity’ to raise funds from voluntary giving–the largest area of the group’s funding–and train the poor to work for themselves, and to advocate for themselves? Read more than the blurb, Vern my friend. It’s the old “give a man a fish/teach a man to fish” canard.
Click to expand...
Well, The Bell Curve says that some people do not have the ability to learn to “fish.” They need a managerial state to take care of them although that isn’t a conclusion the that book.
 
ribozyme said:
Well, The Bell Curve says that some people do not have the ability to learn to “fish.” They need a managerial state to take care of them although that isn’t a conclusion the that book.
Click to expand...
We are well aware of your theory that a large percentage of the people are inherently inferior and “can’t learn.”

We are also aware that you have no experience in the field of human learning – or any other field – as well.
 
vern_humphrey said:
We are well aware of your theory that a large percentage of the people are inherently inferior and “can’t learn.”

We are also aware that you have no experience in the field of human learning – or any other field – as well.
Click to expand...
It isn’t my theory… it the hypothesis of Herrnstein and Murray.
 
ribozyme said:
It isn’t my theory… it the hypothesis of Herrnstein and Murray.
Click to expand...
When you say
Well, The Bell Curve says that some people do not have the ability to learn to “fish.” They need a managerial state to take care of them although that isn’t a conclusion the that book.
Click to expand...
and say it without any disclaimer, it’s your theory.

However, I’ll be fair and give you a chance to correct that: Straight up, yes or no – do you believe a large percentage of the population are unable to learn marketable skills?
 
Michaeljc4 said:
How is it ‘forced charity’ to raise funds from voluntary giving–the largest area of the group’s funding–and train the poor to work for themselves, and to advocate for themselves? Read more than the blurb, Vern my friend. It’s the old “give a man a fish/teach a man to fish” canard.
Click to expand...
Here’s what the site put up front:
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty: CCHD funded group successes
Click to expand...
123 living wage ordinances have been passed, generating $750,000,000 in new annual wages (employees of cities, counties, school districts). CCHD funded projects were involved in 11 of the new ordinances.
Click to expand...
State minimum wage laws are now enacted in 26 states. In 2006, six states passed minimum wage laws and CCHD funded groups got it on the ballot in four of those states.
Click to expand...
The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is an important source of income for low-income families. Families who do not apply for the EITC lose $1,000-$2,000 in returned taxes. CCHD funded projects operate tax centers that do free tax preparation for low-income families. Door knocking by funded groups generates eligible applicants.
Click to expand...
All of those bolded sections are both charity and forced charity – when you pass an ordnance or law compliance is not voluntary.

Very few of their activities are social justice.
 
vern_humphrey said:
When you say

and say it without any disclaimer, it’s your theory.

However, I’ll be fair and give you a chance to correct that: Straight up, yes or no – do you believe a large percentage of the population are unable to learn marketable skills?
Click to expand...
yes
 
Ridgerunner said:
I have been in inner city stores and what you say appears to me to be true. However, it must be recognized that stores stock what people in any given locale will buy; not what the store thinks is good for them, but which they will not buy.

My guess is that much of this is cultural, not determined by means. If one grows up eating nothing but deep-fried, grease-laden food, and retains that preference into adulthood, it isn’t healthy no matter what the food itself is.

This is anecdotal, but I have observed that Hispanics from Mexico also eat a lot of deep-fried food and just plain fat, churned into other recipe ingredients.
Click to expand...
Yes and no. Culture definitely plays a role. But there is a definite shortage of fresh food in inner city areas and it is not because the residents don’t want it:

http://www.naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com/asp/articleDisplay.asp?strArticleId=1818&strSite=NFMSite

A commitment to eating healthy and organic foods always takes some extra effort, but it’s an especially difficult endeavor for low income and inner-city shoppers. In many poor, urban areas, food choices are limited to convenience stores and corner shops. In West Oakland, Calif., for example, there are more than 40,000 residents, but not a single grocery store.

The article continues to detail the efforts of local organizers to bring in more fresh food - efforts which are succeeding so there is hope.

Even better info can be found at the below link. You can also google “food deserts” and “food redlining” to learn more about this lack of availability and what drives it.

http://foodmapper.wordpress.com/2008/03/
 
Swan said:
Yes and no. Culture definitely plays a role. But there is a definite shortage of fresh food in inner city areas and it is not because the residents don’t want it:

http://www.naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com/asp/articleDisplay.asp?strArticleId=1818&strSite=NFMSite

A commitment to eating healthy and organic foods always takes some extra effort, but it’s an especially difficult endeavor for low income and inner-city shoppers. In many poor, urban areas, food choices are limited to convenience stores and corner shops. In West Oakland, Calif., for example, there are more than 40,000 residents, but not a single grocery store.

The article continues to detail the efforts of local organizers to bring in more fresh food - efforts which are succeeding so there is hope.

Even better info can be found at the below link. You can also google “food deserts” and “food redlining” to learn more about this lack of availability and what drives it.

http://foodmapper.wordpress.com/2008/03/
Click to expand...
I’m always amazed at articles like this.

Don’t the writers realize that stores sell what customers buy?:confused:

Go to a poor hispanic neighborhood, and the bodegas there will sell exotic foods pecular to Latin America – foods that you don’t find elsewhere.

Go to a poor Middle Eastern neighborhood, and the stores there will sell foods that are peculiar to the Middle East.

The goods you find in a store are a reflection of what the customers want. If they stopped buying some of the more unhealthy foods, and started asking for other food, the stock would change.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top